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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-16 Daily Xml
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SA Ambulance Service

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:52): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding health.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Yesterday, Channel 9 reported the story of a 70-year-old woman in the northern suburbs who waited for an hour for an ambulance while she was in excruciating pain. The government was reported to dispute these claims by arguing that an intensive care paramedic was swiftly on scene. Late yesterday evening, the paramedic who attended the job spoke publicly via Twitter, and I quote:

I was the paramedic at this job. They are using another job at a similar location to try and confuse you. There was no intensive care paramedic there. The patient waited 58 minutes…We couldn't get another ambulance and needed MFS…

We were the first crew there. Had to call an Intensive Care paramedic who came from Parafield. Sick of people lying about it when I was there.

My questions to the minister are:

1. After one of the minister's chief executives recently threatened paramedics with ICAC for speaking out, why is the government agency now apparently trying to mislead the public about delays in ambulance response times?

2. Is it a breach of the Public Sector Code of Ethics for an agency to make public comments that are not factual?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:53): I certainly am aware of both comments. What it seems to me, on the face of it, is there were two similar cases and there is a lack of clarity as to which case was being referred to in the media. Certainly, I will seek further information from the Ambulance Service to make sure that the—in fact, to be frank, I will get information on both cases.

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